Why AAdvantage Flyers Need To Get the Citi Strata Premier Card (Over the Airline’s Co-Branded Cards)

American Airlines has several of its own co-branded cards, from premium ones with high annual fees that come with many perks and lounge access to entry-level beginner ones for AA loyalists who just want free checked bags or priority boarding.

Although these cards can be lucrative, there are hidden gems among flexible rewards cards that can benefit AA flyers, and those are part of Citi’s lineup of Strata credit cards — most specifically, the Citi Strata Premier^® Card.

Here’s why AAdvantage loyalists should get the Citi Strata Premier card either in addition to, or maybe even over American Airline’s very own co-branded cards.

Citi Strata Premier Overview

The Citi Strata Premier card comes with a low $95 annual fee and solid bonus categories, which I’ll talk more about below. It also has a generous welcome offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.

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Citi Strata Premier^® Card

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Citi Strata Premier^® Card

Welcome Offer

Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou^® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.

60,000 Points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$960

Annual Fee

$95

APR

19.74% to 27.74% Variable

Why We Like This Card

The Citi Strata Premier^® Card is a great all-around travel rewards card that allows you to earn big rewards on a variety of purchases like air travel, at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, and more, along with flexible redemption options, all for a modest annual fee.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 10x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
• 3x points on air travel, other hotel purchases, restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, and EV charging stations
• $100 annual hotel benefit

Cons

• $95 annual fee

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Card Highlights

• Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou^® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
• Earn 10 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.
• Earn 3 Points per $1 on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases, at Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas and EV Charging Stations.
• Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
• $100 Annual Hotel Benefit: Once per calendar year, enjoy $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through CitiTravel.com. Benefit applied instantly at time of booking.
• No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
• No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.74% to 27.74% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to American Airlines AAdvantage Miles at a 1:1 Ratio

The Citi Strata Premier card earns Citi ThankYou Points, a flexible rewards currency that transfers at a 1:1 ratio to the American Airlines AAdvantage program. I transfer my Citi ThankYou Points almost exclusively to AA, but cardholders do have additional flexibility there — Citi has 16 airline partners and 5 hotel partners.

Although I’ve utilized partners like Air France-KLM Flying Blue and Preferred Hotels & Resorts I Prefer occasionally in the past, as a Oneworld loyalist, I find having American AAdvantage as a transfer partner a valuable option that other banks don’t offer.

Low Annual Fee That’s Simple To Offset

The Citi Strata Premier card has a reasonable $95 annual fee, which is easy to offset if you use the card’s $100 annual hotel benefit. This perk takes off $100 for a single hotel stay of $500 or more when booked through CitiTravel.com.

Bonus Earning Categories Make It Worth It (Even Over Certain Co-Branded Cards)

While it’s true that Citi ThankYou Points transfer from the Citi Strata Premier card to AA at a 1:1 ratio, you might be thinking why you should bother to go through that additional hassle, especially because you can earn AAdvantage miles directly through a co-branded credit card.

AA co-branded cards have perks, especially if you value free checked bags, priority boarding, and Admirals Club Access. But the Citi Strata Premier card offers bonus categories that may actually help you accrue more points faster, which you can then turn into more AAdvantage miles by transferring them.

After all, why earn fewer points directly when you can earn more flexible reward points and send them over to AA or other partners?

The Citi Strata Premier card has the following bonus categories:

• 10x on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com
• 3x on airfare and hotels
• 3X at restaurants, supermarkets, gas and EV charging stations
• 1x on everything else

These generous bonus categories make it much easier to earn more points. In comparison, the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Platinum Select^® World Elite Mastercard^® earns the following:

• 2x at restaurants, gas stations, and on eligible American Airlines purchases
• 1x miles on everything else

As you can see, with the AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite card, which has a similar annual fee of ($0 intro annual fee, then $99 after the first year), you simply don’t have the opportunity for the biggest earnings, at least after the initial year. Meanwhile, spending on the Citi Strata Premier card, especially in the 3x and 10x bonus categories, means you can earn a lot of points fast, then transfer them to American Airlines.

Even some of the most premium AA co-branded cards, like the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Legend Mastercard^®, don’t offer excellent earning categories for everyday spending. While this card (and other AA co-branded cards) come with other perks that can make flying a smoother and more premium experience, the actual earning potential is limited. It includes bonus miles mostly on spending related to the airline itself.

For example, the AAdvantage Executive card’s spending categories include:

• 12x miles on eligible hotels booked through aa.com/hotels and on eligible car rentals booked through aa.com/cars
• 4x miles on eligible American Airlines purchases
• 5x miles after you spend $150,000 in purchases in a calendar year on eligible American Airlines purchases for the remainder of the year
• 1x miles on all other purchases

Yes, the card does come with a useful perk in access to Admirals Club for the cardholder and 2 guests or immediate family members, among other benefits that can make its $695 annual fee worth it. But if we’re focusing on earning, this card doesn’t offer any bonus categories for purchases like gas, restaurants, or groceries.

If you’re someone who has lots of everyday spending and wants to earn AA miles without paying a high annual fee, the Citi Strata Premier card is the perfect card for doing so.

Alternative Cards for AAdvantage Flyers

If you’re not sold on the Citi Strata Premier card, you could get other credit cards ideal for AA loyalists. You could also get both the Citi Strata Premier card and another card (ideally a co-branded AA card) together to focus on earning big and getting American Airlines perks.

If You’re Willing To Pay a Premium Fee for Premium Benefits:

You could consider either the aforementioned AAdvantage Executive card ($695 annual fee), which may combine well with the Citi Strata Premier. You could charge AA flights to the AAdvantage Executive card and get Admirals Club membership, then charge all other purchases to the Citi Strata Premier.

Another option is to get the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card instead of the Citi Strata Premier card. This card features elevated earnings, most notably 6x points on dining on Friday and Saturdays from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Eastern time, 3x points on dining all other times, and 1.5x points on everything else, ideal for those who spend a lot in nonbonus categories). It also has various statement credits that can help you easily outweigh the  $695 annual fee.

It also comes with Priority Pass lounge access, including 2 guests, and 4 Admirals Club Globe lounge passes annually.

If You’re Willing To Pay a Midrange Fee:

If you’re OK with spending a few hundred dollars on an annual fee each year, opt for the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Globe™ Mastercard^®, which has a yearly cost of $350. The card offers 4 Admirals Club Globe lounge passes annually, and the ability to earn the following:

• 3x miles on American Airlines purchases
• 2x miles at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
• 2x miles on transportation purchases, including taxis, ride-shares, and public transit
• 1x miles on all other purchases

If You Want To Save on Annual Fees

Value a reasonable annual fee (or having none at all)? You could get both or just one of the aforementioned cards, The Citi Strata Premier card or the AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite card. A combo of both would keep your annual fee to $95 the first year and $194 in subsequent years, but you’d have lots of flexibility to earn Citi ThankYou Points, which you can transfer to AAdvantage and beyond through the Citi Strata Premier card. You’d also get perks like a free checked bag, the ability to earn AAdvantage Loyalty Points through spending, and Priority boarding through the AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite card. Loyalty Points may matter a lot to some dedicated American Airlines flyers since they determine elite status with the airline.

Or you could apply for the no-annual-fee Citi Strata℠ Card. You’d have to keep in mind that, while the card does offer solid bonus categories  — 5x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com, 3x points at supermarkets, some transit, gas and EV charging stations, and a category of your choice (like fitness clubs; some streaming services; live entertainment; cosmetic stores, barber shops, and hair salons; or pet supply stores), 2x points at restaurants, and 1x points on everything else — its transfer ratio to AAdvantage is only 1:0.7, which isn’t ideal.

There’s also the no-annual-fee American Airlines AAdvantage^® MileUp^®, which could be useful if you spend a lot on groceries. It offers 2x miles at grocery stores, including grocery delivery services, and 2x miles on eligible American Airlines purchases.

Final Thoughts

If your aim is to earn a lot of AAdvantage miles that you can redeem for flights, one of the top low-annual-fee cards is the Citi Strata Premier card. The card transfers points at a 1:1 ratio to AAdvantage, and you can earn a lot of points quickly via its generous bonus categories.

You definitely don’t need an AA co-branded card to rack up AA miles, but having one in combination with a card in the Citi Strata family could be helpful. If you want a faster path to elite status, plus AA perks like a free checked bag or priority boarding, you could combine the Citi Strata Premier card with a card like the AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite card.